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Rene' Cohen Testimony

Below is a testimony provided by a friend of Discerning the Truth who wants to share their life-changing story. Once bound by the deceptions taught by the New Age that leads a soul from confusion to delusion. We can only pray that others will be encouraged and exhorted by these personal reflections.

How the Lord Came to MeTestimony of a Former New Ager
by Rene’Cohen ~ October 23, 2007“1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and Truth.” John 1:1,14 (NKJV)

The date was Friday, April 20, 2007. It is a day I will never forget. I was finally saved. I fully surrendered to God and finally understood why Jesus came to earth and died for me (us). I am writing this to share that God, through His Son Jesus Christ, gives eternal life. He transforms us, He heals us and He is real.

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:5

This past April, I took my six-year old daughter, Lily, to Hawaii. Following the guidance of the universe I looked up my old flight attendant roommate, Faith, whom I lost touch with. She was in my Continental Airlines flight attendant training class back in 1988. We were roommates in Houston right out of training. She transferred to Honolulu a month after we graduated. I put in my transfer shortly after and lived with her and her family in Hawaii Kai for a short period of time. She took the ‘early out’ program when Continental Airlines closed its HNL base in the mid 1990’s.

We lost touch for over ten years. I had heard she had gotten a divorce. I tried looking her up in the phone book with no luck. But I found her x-husband listed in the white pages and gave him a call. Sure enough it was him. I was so excited! He said he would give her my number and have her give me a call. She called me when I returned to Houston.

Little did I know that Faith had gotten saved seven years prior and the Lord used her to share the Gospel with me. If anyone else would have told me I needed Jesus, I would have politely said, “You believe what you believe and I believe what I believe…respect my way and I’ll respect yours.” Little did I know the plans the Lord had for me. I did not realize all along there were many people praying for my salvation.

I cannot explain in words how strong the power of God was when I talked to Faith on the phone the day before I was saved. I had never prayed with anyone filled with the Holy Spirit before. As she was talking with me on the phone, the Lord was showing her I was involved in idolatry. He was also showing her Scripture from Isaiah 43:1-2. “You are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” I was getting ready to go through a divorce and as it turned out He knew I would not have made it through without Him.

After she prayed over me on the phone, I felt very light, like a huge weight/burden had been lifted. I couldn’t wait to call Faith again the next day. I was sitting in the car rider line at my daughter’s elementary school waiting for her to get out of school. My two-year old son, James, was sound asleep in the back seat. Faith shared with me that day that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

She asked me if I would like to pray out loud to ask Jesus into my life and to repent (turn from my sin) and place my faith and trust in Him alone. I said yes of course! I wasn’t comfortable with praying so she led me in a simple prayer and once again I felt a peace beyond all understanding. The prayers of the people that had been praying for me were finally answered!

When I called my sister Julie to tell her, she started crying. She had gotten saved seven months prior and had been praying for me with other believers. She knew how steeped into the new age I was and wouldn’t have listened to her. She was shocked that I had gotten saved so quickly, especially with the trained background I had in the new age and all the materials I had. New age was my life.

My spiritual journey began at age thirty. I thought I had finally woken up. I was finding out the purpose of life, my reason for being here. Everything had a purpose. There was a reason for it all.

At that time, I met my so-called soulmate who led me to read the books, The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss. I was amazed at what I was reading. I wanted more. So I got a hold of as many books as I could. I read numerous books by many authors; Ruth Montgomery, Edgar Cayce, Sanaya Roman, Wayne Dyer, Carolyn Myss, Shakti Gawain, Doreen Virtue, Eckhart Tolle, Marianne Williamson and the book, A Course in Miracles, just to name a few.

In a nutshell, the new age teaches that we ourselves create our own reality. As creator we do not need a savior, we are sinless and there is no such thing as the devil, heaven or hell. So therefore, I did not believe in satan or hell. I believed everything was either positive or negative energy. I believed ‘we are all one’ (with the universe).

The reason the new age was so easy to follow was because it focused on finding inner peace and peace in the world. However, the new age completely defines a different Jesus than the True and Living God of the Bible. Jesus is compared to being a ‘great teacher’ along with many others like Mohammed or Buddah. The Bible itself is also said to have been tampered with and there were things removed from it and you can’t trust it. My view of Christianity at that time was that it was one way to God but there are many paths to god. It irritated me that Christians thought their way was the only way.

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and it’s gate is wide for the many who choose that way…and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

A big influence on me in 1997 was Neale Donald Walsch’s book series, Conversations with God. He used many Scriptures taken from the Bible and twisted the interpretation from the god he was talking to. “The time will come when they (believers) will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB).

The late Edgar Cayce (known as the sleeping prophet in the new age) also twisted Scripture from the Bible regarding reincarnation . In the book Many Mansions: The Edgar Cayce Story on Reincarnation, Cayce used John 3:3 to say Jesus was teaching on reincarnation when Jesus said we must be born again. Jesus did not mean reincarnation. He was explaining the importance of a spiritual rebirth that comes only from God, saying that people are born of water (from their mothers womb) and must also be born again (by the spirit of God). “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again’.” (John 3:3 NIV)

Needless to say, I began believing in reincarnation. It seemed everyone believed it so I thought it must be true. Every single book I came across during this time also accepted it. Hebrews 9:27 tells us “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement.” There is a stern warning for those who preach a different gospel. The Apostle Paul even warned the believers in Galations 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.”But I thought I was finding out all the secrets of the universe!

As a seeker of truth, I found myself learning everything I could about the new age. I was so hungry to discover as much as I could about my own divinity. I felt the universe was directing my path. I was learning how it all works. I was amazed at the things I was discovering.

I went to several spiritual and self-help conferences and learned as much as I could get my hands on. I was a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. I did past life regressions on myself, family and friends. I was also certified in 2nd degree Reiki. I worked with my chakras and did yoga. I worked with crystals and special rocks known for certain healing properties. I went to light centers. One such place, called ‘sukiyo mahikari’, was a place where you receive and send light. You name it, I wanted to know more about it.

My childhood consisted of being baptized as a baby (Catholic) and going to church on Christmas and Easter. A sister in Christ put it this way, “We grew up as CEO’s, Christmas, Easter only”, lol. We never read the bible because we couldn’t understand it. I knew about Jesus. I knew he died for my sins, but I never knew Him. Our family had all kinds of experiences in the psychic realm. We were fascinated by the spirit world. We had seen ghosts, and had so many weird things happen to us. We loved anything that had to do with astrology and our zodiac sign…not anymore. “And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moom and stars- all the forces of heaven- do not be seduced by them and worship them.” (Deut. 4:19)

When I was in the sixth grade, a friend of mine told me about Jesus. I’ll never forget Debbie. She shared with me how to accept Jesus into my life as my personal Savior. She noticed that I had a Ouija Board oracle game in my closet. We destroyed it because she said it was evil. It’s true, it was. I had been having nightmares and scary things happening around my house. She told me if I was ever scared I could say out loud, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to go!” and He would make the evil spirits go away. Thanks to the Lord and Debbie’s instruction, Jesus kept me from a near death experience I had in the mid 1990’s.

I was living with my sister, Julie, in a house we bought in Phoenix, Arizona. We loved buying things from antique and thrift stores. We had our entire house decorated in retro furniture from the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. We also had a lot of paranormal activity happening in our house. As a matter of fact strange things happened in practically every house we ever lived in. Who knows what kind of spirits were attached to some of those things we bought. Who knows what kind of things took place in the house we lived in. This particular house was built in the 1940’s. (Read the book Spiritual Housecleaning by Alice and Eddie Smith from Houston,TX www.usprayercenter.org )

This happened when I was in my late twenties. One night when I was asleep, I had a very scary experience where a dark presence almost suffocated me to death. I was in a dream but I seemed to be awake. It was very real. I could hear a man’s voice talking. I was trying to listen to hear what he was saying, when all of a sudden I had a dark presence hover over me and began to press down on me. It was trying to crush me. I could not breathe. It was literally trying to kill me. It was a horrible experience. I thought I was going to die.

The only thing that saved me was when I started crying out the name of Jesus. I yelled at the top of my lungs in my dream, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to go!” After repeatedly crying out the name of Jesus as loud as I could, I was finally released. I woke up in a sweat and ran into my sister’s room. She was up late talking on the phone and was like, “What in the world happened to you?” I realized years later after being saved this was a demonic attack. Thank you Lord for Debbie being bold enough to share You with me in sixth grade!

During my ten years involved the new age, I studied the major religions of the world. I went on a silent retreat with author/teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn. I went on a spiritual retreat with Śri Sathya Sai Baba devotees, a hindu god incarnate in India who performs miracles. I actually thought Sai Baba might be Jesus or that Jesus was an ascended master. Sai Baba performed many miracles which I was a witness to. “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).

I owned several packs of divination cards. I used them as a tool to get answers from the universe. One of my favorite decks at that time was made up of angels and archangels. Since they were angels, I thought surely these must be good. I even prayed to angels thinking that was a good thing. When the Apostle John, in the book of Revelation saw an angel, he fell down to worship him at his feet. But the angel said, “No, do not worship me... worship only God!” (Rev. 22:8-9).

I thought for sure angels are from God, which they are, but not realizing there are fallen angels called demons.
Remember, at that time I didn’t believe in satan or hell. However, Scripture reveals that “…even satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). satan is known as the father of lies.

During this time I had a friend, Carol, who channeled angels. She called herself an ‘earth angel’ and a ‘lightworker’. At that time she was teaching classes on the book, The Secret. After I got saved, I was so excited to share Jesus with her. When I told her about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, she said, “Rene’, youare the holy spirit. The holy spirit is you.”

Carol also channeled dead spirits. She talked to my dead grandmother. It was comforting to hear from the other side. But now I realize, satan, being a liar can impersonate anyone we know. They are called familiar spirits in the Bible. “And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth dead spirits” (Deut. 18:10-11).
When I told her the truth about Jesus, this is what she said. “People pray in Jesus name because they don’t believe in themselves. They don’t believe that their own name has just as much power as Jesus. I love Jesus and have worked (channeled) with him many times. But people believe him to be perfect and better than themselves. He was just like you and I. He was given the same feelings as you have. He went through the same things as we do now. It is just never talked about. The bible is a great thing but it is still a book. It has power because people give it power. We read to gain knowledge but truth is inside of us, not in any book.”

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires” (2 Peter 3:3 NLT)

Had I not have been saved with the Holy Spirit of God indwelling me, what she said would have made sense to me. But now, I knew. I wrote her back and told her to test the spirits she was talking to. I said, “ask them which light they are from”. I wanted her to know the real Jesus too! We are told in 1 John 4:1, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” We test them by what they say about Jesus Christ. If they say anything other than the true Gospel as revealed in Scripture--He was born of a virgin, was without sin and died on a cross in our place for our sins, was raised from the dead three days later and is now seated at the right hand of God -- they are not from God.

“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons” (1 Tim 4:1).
Back to April 20, 2007…later that night after receiving the free gift of salvation, Faith shared with me prophecy from Scripture revealing that we are living in the last days and Jesus is coming back soon. “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NLT) I had known Jesus died for my sins before, but never stopped sinning. I never knew Him. He was never Lord over my life. I was never born again (of the Spirit).

After I got off the phone that night, the Spirit of God came down and He showed me how much He loved me. I started sobbing uncontrollably. I thought about what He did on the cross for me. I did nothing to deserve it. He took my punishment that I deserved on Himself. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

Because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for me that day, I can now stand before the throne of Almighty God, Our Father in Heaven, the Righteous Judge of the universe, and He will see Jesus. The penalty of death that I so deserved had been paid in full by His blood. I was so grieved that I went my whole life and I never really knew Him. How could I have been so blinded? He was right there and I kept pushing Him away. “The god of this age (satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2Cor 4:4) Remember, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the very power of God.” (1 Cor.1:18)

The next day I felt different. Not realizing a change was taking place. I was a new creation in Christ Jesus according to 2nd Corinthians 5:17. I felt like a part of me died. I didn’t know what to do with all my new age books now. There were things all over my house that had to do with the new age. I knew in the deepest part of my being I had to get rid of every single thing that did not serve God. It was the only way to be set free.

Prior to Faith and I connecting again, the Lord had been preparing her for spiritual battle. She had taken a deliverance course by a ministry that helps equip the body of Christ to do spiritual warfare using the Word of God. Had we not done deliverance right away, I would have not been set free so quickly. The Lord knew the things that were holding me captive. His Word is powerful and praise God for those who are called to take part in this kind of ministry.

With Faith’s help, she prayed with me over the phone. We prayed together in agreement. The Holy Spirit showed me so many things that I had done to offend Him. I confessed everything that I could think of. I renounced and repented of those things and asked God to forgive me. I even broke soul ties with every unholy relationship I had been in. By the blood of Jesus Christ I was set free! The guilt was gone. Jesus took it all. He began giving me new thoughts, new desires and a new life in Him.

Now, I am taking up His cross each day and giving Him Lordship over my life, for it was bought at a price, and that price was the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.” (Ephesians 1:7) “With His own blood…He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.” (Hebrews 9:12)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, save me. I have sinned against You and only You. I need the blood of Jesus Christ to cover my sins. Forgive me Father. You said all who confess Jesus as Lord shall be saved. I am confessing to You now. I believe Jesus was born of a virgin, died on a cross and rose again after three days. I believe He is risen. Help me to know You. Take the scales off my eyes. Make me a new creation and a (wo)man after Your own heart. Thank You for the free gift of eternal life. Holy Spirit reveal Yourself clearly in my life that I may bring glory to God. Use my life as a living testimony for Your glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

The following testimony was written six months after a co-worker/former flight attendant shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with me. The original title for this testimony was How I came to the Lord. I changed it a couple years later to How the Lord Came to me after the Lord showed me that no one can come to the Father unless He draws them. (John 6:44)
He has truly transformed me. I am a new creation in Christ. The old has gone and the new is here. (2 Cor. 5:17) Because of Him, I am free from the bondage of a daily life of struggling with so many things on my own. He has given me new eyes to see.

Before giving my life to Christ, one area I really struggled with was using curse words all thetime. I hated it. Every single day, I tried my hardest to just go through the day without saying one bad word. I have small children and I absolutely hated my mouth. I tried everything but nothing worked! I couldn’t do it. No matter how hard I tried, I failed every single time.

All glory to God, He took that from me right away! “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”Phil. 4:13. I stopped saying bad words! I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a miracle! That is the power of God! If and when I do slip up, I am quick to confess it. “..if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”1 John 1:9. (a quick note on sinning once saved- read the book of Romans- when we confess our sins and repent of our past sins, all of them are wiped clean, God never looks at them again. The blood of Jesus covers them and they are cast away as far as the east is from the west the Bible says. However, once saved, we do not make it a practice of sinning. When we wash ourselves in the Word and renew our minds daily, we begin to sin less and less and those things that we once loved, we began to see through God’s eyes.)

He also took the urge to drink away which was also a miracle. Now I know that “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). There are many more things He set me free from and also a lot of inner healing from so many wounds. Some are too painful to write about at this time. It’s an ongoing process, but one where now I know I am not alone.

So much more has happened since this was written as I allow Him to take control of every part of the life He gave me and get to know the One who saved me. Getting to know someone requires spending time with that person. I urge you, if you haven’t already, to get into a solid Bible teaching church and spend time in God’s Word daily. Spend time with Jesus. Get to know Him. Only God knows when our last day on earth is… It is not by accident you are reading this... TODAY is the day of salvation. He is waiting with open arms~ Rene’ 7/16/12]